All Forum Posts by: Robert McCormick

Quote from @Theresa Harris:

If you are a co-owner and they are rental properties, then you should be able to deduct them as an expense regardless of how the payments are made.

 Thanks I hope you are correct. 

I'm co-owner of some condos with my mother where I had to pay condo fees and the majority of the payments were made via check in which I sent out a letter through the post office to the management firm in charge of the condos. Can I write off the payments I made at the post office for my taxes? I'm looking online and so far can't find anything regarding this situation. Answers would be appreciated as I want and need to have my taxes as accurate as possible to avoid losing money. I have an appointment very soon with an accountant for both the rental properties and my W-2 taxes so I'm hoping to have everything needed to minimize errors. 

I have been on and off with getting my real estate license due to life events and other things.

I basically have 2 courses left and the license exam and will add that I have had some success in sales but being 31 now and the real estate market being in a low spot I'm not

as confident as I could be that I will succeed if and when I start my career as an agent. If and when I get my real estate license I know I will gain confidence if I were to get

at least 1 sale per month. I will admit that I am in introvert and have had some issues with triggers and mental health in the past but overall I have been better as of late but it's

still a work in progress. I understand that having confidence is key and that I have to have thick skin to persevere through all the no's and going for a period of time without getting paid

but I know I can do it. Back to the question what have you guys done as agents to build up your confidence and be successful enough to remain in real estate? Any tips and experiences would

be appreciated!

My family and I are nearly done with renovating a rental unit with the hopes of not only increasing the value therefore increasing the rent but to also attract higher quality tenants. We have a potential tenant who is very interested in the unit as her mother lives in the same complex and we received a very positive review from her supervisor who not only stated that she has been a reliable employee but is expected to stay with the company for a long time. The monthly income is $3600 and at the moment we are looking to charge either $1000 or 1050 for rent each month. However, if we have the kitchen cabinets renovated then we could increase the rent and potentially attract other tenants. While I am not against signing a lease with the interest I am open to seeing what else is out there. The last tenant we had at one point never had a trash bin until I bought one for her and her family and we also had multiple leaking incidents due to plumbing issues in both the kitchen and the bathroom. It wasn't her fault as her children caused some of it but we decided to not renew the lease. In addition, one of her sons apparently slipped in the bathroom and kicked the wall hard enough to cause a big hole that had to be repaired. I am adding this to emphasize why I feel it's important to see who else would be interested. This tenant would be single with no children which isn't a bad thing considering our past experience (I am personally ok with someone having a family but after having to pay a few thousand dollars for repairs and receiving complaints from the unit below us (2 story building and we are on the 2nd floor) it's important to have a good standard.

In terms of renovation the main focus we have is to finish stripping the paint off of one of the doors (95% done) and while there are other minor things that could be dealt with they are probably not worth the time and effort at this point. In addition to determining whether or not we should commit to the one interest we already have should we go ahead and get the cabinets renovated? It will likely happen this week if we go through with it so any and all thoughts would be appreciated.

Quote from @Lucia Rushton:

@Robert McCormick. I have a couple of questions and thoughts that I would be happy to run over with you on a call. DM if you are interested.

Did you receive my message?

Quote from @Eliott Elias:

You will make it all back after one deal. Your license is worth it's weight in gold if you're a hustler

 I'm sure it will be, either way I need to have the confidence to succeed which I'm working on . 

Quote from @Taylor Dasch:

How much does the Chase job pay? A W2 job can be beneficial if you are planning on investing in RE. If I could tweak the way that I did things, I would get a higher paying job(I'm currently a FF), dig deep in to REI and purchase enough properties to live off of my monthly cash flow, then keep my w-2 job for 1 - 2 years while I actively acquire Real Estate as well as build my business as a Real Estate Agent.

It does take a while to get the ball rolling in Real Estate, or at least it did for me. It sounds like you dont want to quit so I would just keep hustling after it if its something you really want to do.  Theres definitely nothing wrong with just jumping right in, you will be forced to build your business / lead generate daily. I would assume the first year or two will be a lower salary than the possibly W-2s you may have applied for, however if you give great customer service and grow your database, it has the potential to build wealth faster than other jobs. Good Luck! Hope you keep at it!

The Chase Job would've been $22 per hour for me but I wasn't hired for the position. I have an interview for a property manager position this afternoon which is higher pay based off what I've seen on Linkedin

I am in Texas and have finished 4 of the real estate courses out of 6 on real estate express before I can take the license exam. I have been on and off with it and have had difficulty with the exams unfortunately (not giving up though because that's not me). I have a sales/marketing job at the moment where I am paid $15 an hour but also get a bonus should I meet certain requirements each week (also has potential for me to build a team and such and make decent money but that's a story for another day). I mainly took it to get out of a lousy retail job that I had seeing that I have a business degree in management. I am also running a property management business with my mother and have for a year now which has gone ok but we've had to make more repairs for one of the 2 units we currently manage and are getting new tenants for both units anyway since 1 of them costed us too much money in plumbing repairs and the other is leaving because the family is growing and they need to find a bigger place. I got into entrepreneurship a few years ago when I returned to school which is part of the reason we did this and I know that overall I can't achieve higher financial status on my own. I have had difficulty finding a position that has somewhat to do with my college degree whether it's at a bank or an operations manager trainee position at Avis (I went through 3 rounds of interviews with Avis and Bank of America but came up short) and also had interviews with places like Chase and have one scheduled this week for a commercial property manager position (also an assistant position that I have a better chance of getting) that would be a significant increase in pay than what I currently have. I had the intention of getting my real estate license to do entrepreneurship through that like being a real estate broker and such and I know that should I become a realtor it will be difficult. I have also struggled with overall confidence and self-esteem issues due to insecurities about where I am in life (30m, will be 31 next month). I am still reviewing my real estate agent material in both my textbook, quizlet, and prepagent to do better on the final exams as I usually come up short by 3 or 4 questions most of the time (exams have 70 questions). If I do get the license at this point I could at least have should I want to become a realtor or something but overall I'm still struggling with some confidence in my sales pitch and such due to not having as much money as my family (please don't criticize me as I am thankful but feel that it's important I increase my overall value to the workforce and society for not only others but for my self-esteem). I will add that my handyman skills aren't the best as when there plumbing issues I typically called a company to fix it and had to deal with water leaking into the unit below ours (we have resolved the issue and are making renovations to the unit including the shower, kitchen, and also repainting some stuff).

I would like to think that it would be worthwhile for me to finish the courses and get my license but feel a little overwhelmed with work situation and such. I know my focus and confidence are key to me sorting this out but at this point should I still get my license? I have some experience in bookkeeping via tracking expenses and rent payments for my tenants and also my personal expenses and use to be self-employed for uber, lyft, and some delivery services like Favor (food delivery) and Doordash where I had to track my gas, car repairs, and other expenses. Any advice on the matter would be appreciated. Also if there are any key details that I am missing that would with answering let me know please.

Quote from @Jack Faysash:

Robert, what price range are they looking for? I might know someone.

Their price range is $1500 or lower (preferably under that) will that work?

Quote from @Robert Finn:

Depending on the timeline and rent, I have 3 bedroom rental in 78209 available at the end of August.

Awesome! Our lease is month-to-month so we can  potentially work something out. I can message you to discuss the rent if that works for you?